NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic is ranked No. 1 and is 64-2 in 2011, and sees room for improvement.
He won three of the four Grand Slam titles this year - at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open – and is talking about adding to his collection.
“There is a lot more to prove, a lot more tournaments to win,” Djokovic told reporters at the Empire State Building on Tuesday, a day after he beat Rafael Nadal in the final at Flushing Meadows.
And that’s not all: Djokovic gained plenty of attention for his spot-on impersonations of other players (Nadal, Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova, among others), and now he wants to pursue acting.
“Yeah. Why not? I might do something if I have time soon. And I would like to. I just think show business is something that attracts me, that I really like watching, that I like being a part of. It’s part of my personality,” Djokovic said after making the rounds to various morning talk shows with a couple of days’ worth of stubble on his face and the benefit of about three hours’ worth of sleep.
The 24-year-old from Serbia didn’t provide details or indicate whether he’d like to wind up on TV or in a movie; he did say he already has a couple of offers to consider.
“This the way I see things off the court. ... If I embrace them, if I accept them as something that can give me energy, that can make me happy, then it all goes in a positive direction,” Djokovic said. “Or vice versa: You can say, ‘Oh, look this is taking my attention off tennis. This is negative.’ It just depends on the way you look at it, and I try always to look at it in a positive way.”
Just in case anyone might wonder how focused Djokovic is on his future as a thespian, he was sure to note: “I will not interfere that with my professional life.”
Djokovic is doing pretty well at his day job, putting together what seven-time major champion John McEnroe called “the greatest year in the history of our sport, there’s no doubt about it.”
McEnroe, by the way, went 82-3 in 1984.
As impressive as Djokovic’s overall record is, what’s even more indicative of exactly how well he’s playing is that he is 10-1 against Nadal and Roger Federer this season.
He overcame a two-set deficit, then two match points at 5-3, 40-15 in the fifth, to eliminate Federer in the US Open semi-finals on Saturday, before dominating Nadal for most of the four hours and 10 minutes it took to complete their riveting 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1 final. It’s only the second time someone beat Federer and Nadal at the same Grand Slam tournament. — AP
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